Sports Photography at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium – Harish Sharma 3x3 Basketball Tournament

The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi marked one of my most important milestones as a sports photographer in India, where I covered the Harish Sharma 3x3 Basketball Tournament. This was my first major basketball assignment, and it came with a unique set of challenges and learning experiences that significantly shaped my approach to indoor sports photography.

Unlike outdoor sports, indoor basketball demands precision in lighting control, fast reflexes, and absolute consistency in capturing peak action moments. The stadium, despite being one of India’s most iconic indoor sports venues, presents relatively low-light conditions, which makes technical execution extremely critical for photographers.

Low-Light Sports Photography Challenges

One of the biggest challenges at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium is the lighting. Even in a professional setup, the lighting levels are not always ideal for high-speed action photography.

To overcome this, I had to work with:

• High ISO management

• Wide aperture control (f4 and below preferred)

• Fast shutter speeds to freeze motion

• Accurate autofocus tracking under low light

This assignment reinforced how important it is for a sports photographer to understand exposure balance, especially in indoor environments where lighting cannot be controlled.

Lens Strategy and Shooting Approach

For this tournament, I primarily used my 35mm f/1.8 prime lens, which helped me capture sharp, high-quality images in challenging lighting conditions. However, instead of shooting at the maximum aperture of 1.8, I deliberately restricted myself to apertures between f/3, f/3.5, and f/4.

This approach helped me:

• Maintain better depth of field control

• Keep multiple subjects in focus during fast action

• Reduce overexposure and softness in highlights

• Improve overall consistency across frames

While the 35mm prime helped me get closer to the action, I also realized its limitation in capturing wider court perspectives. This led me to start using my 18–55mm lens more frequently for wider compositions, especially for full-court action and contextual storytelling shots.

With my Nikon D850, even a variable aperture setup worked effectively in indoor conditions when paired with correct exposure settings and careful light reading.

Capturing High-Profile Players

One of the highlights of this tournament was photographing several well-known Indian basketball players, including athletes such as Dagar, Kushal Singh, and Tajinderbir Singh. The chief guests also included Arjuna Awardees such as Sajjan Singh Cheema, Suman Sharma as well as the politician like Sudanshu Mittal, Vijay Goyal and Deputy CM of Delhi Parvesh Singh 

Capturing these players in action required not just technical accuracy but also anticipation and positioning, especially during fast transitions, layups, and defensive plays.

A particularly rewarding outcome of this assignment was that some of my images were later used by players themselves for their profile updates. This reinforced the importance of delivering clean, impactful, and professional-quality sports imagery that athletes can personally connect with.

Learning the Indian Basketball Ecosystem

Beyond photography, this assignment also gave me valuable exposure to the Indian basketball ecosystem. Observing players, team dynamics, court movement, and audience engagement helped me understand how basketball storytelling differs from other sports like cricket, football, or athletics.

Basketball photography is highly dynamic and requires continuous movement, anticipation of rebounds, and awareness of both offensive and defensive plays happening simultaneously.

Expanding Into Indoor Sports Photography

This experience at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium opened new possibilities for me beyond outdoor sports photography. It helped me realize the importance of developing a strong indoor sports photography skill set, especially for:

• Basketball tournaments

• Badminton leagues

• Indoor combat sports

• Corporate indoor sporting events

• Exhibition matches and celebrity games

It also strengthened my confidence in handling low-light environments, where many photographers tend to struggle.

Key Takeaways from the Assignment

The Harish Sharma 3x3 Basketball Tournament taught me several important lessons:

• Prime lenses are powerful but need strategic aperture control

• Wide-angle flexibility is crucial for storytelling shots

• Indoor lighting requires adaptability rather than dependence on gear alone

• Consistency is more important than occasional perfect shots

• Player interaction and timing are critical in fast sports like basketball

Final Thoughts

My experience at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium was a turning point in my journey as a sports photographer in India. It pushed me out of my comfort zone of outdoor sports and into the challenging but exciting world of indoor sports photography.

Today, I am actively looking to expand into more indoor stadium assignments across India, especially where lighting conditions are challenging and storytelling through sports photography becomes even more important.